What it costs
What a basic DBS check costs
Set the nation and any fee charged by the company that applies for you.
What the check costs you, admin fee and VAT included
Total for a basic dbs check
£20
| Official fee (Disclosure and Barring Service) | £20 |
| Admin fee | £0 |
| VAT on the admin fee | £0 |
DBS fee in force since 5 October 2026. The admin fee is set by the intermediary, not by DBS.
A basic DBS check costs £20 when the job is in England or Wales, down from £21.50 for applications received from 5 October 2026. That is the whole price if you apply yourself on the GOV.UK service: there is no admin fee, no VAT and no charge for the online account that shows the certificate. The price rises only when a company sits between you and DBS. An employer who uses a responsible organisation, or a website that applies on your behalf, pays the £20 plus that organisation's own fee, and VAT on that fee if it is registered. Volunteers pay the full price too: unlike standard and enhanced checks, a basic check is never free. In Scotland the equivalent Level 1 disclosure costs £25, and in Northern Ireland an AccessNI basic check costs £16. Use the calculator above to add the fee you were quoted and see the total.
Fees and rules checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are built
The price in each nation
| Nation | Body | Product | Fee | Average wait |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | Disclosure and Barring Service | Basic DBS check | £20 | 0.7 days |
| Scotland | Disclosure Scotland | Level 1 disclosure | £25 | 3.5 days |
| Northern Ireland | AccessNI | AccessNI basic check | £16 | 3 days |
When the fee is not the whole cost
An employer that wants basic checks for its staff cannot use the GOV.UK service for them: the applicant applies there for themselves. Instead it chooses a responsible organisation, which runs the identity check and the form, and receives the result. The GOV.UK employer page says the organisation may charge an administration fee. Whether you or the employer pays it depends on the employer's policy.
The calculator adds that fee and, if it is quoted before VAT, 20% on the fee only. A quote of £15 plus VAT on a basic check comes to £38, of which £20 goes to DBS.
Repeat checks add up
A basic certificate cannot go on the Update Service, so a worker whose agency asks for a fresh check every year pays £20 each time, plus any admin fee. Over five years that is £100 in DBS fees alone. If you are asked for a new certificate for a role that could lawfully get a standard or enhanced check, that higher level comes with the option of the Update Service, which can work out cheaper; the renewal page sets out when a new check is really needed.
Scotland's Level 1 and the AccessNI basic check
Since the Level 1 disclosure replaced the basic disclosure in Scotland, it costs £25 and is applied for on mygov.scot. AccessNI's basic check costs £16 on nidirect, the lowest of the three. The rule is the same everywhere: apply to the body of the nation where the job is.
Basic checks paid by an employer
An employer asking new staff for a basic check goes through a responsible organisation; one that requests more than 1,000 basic checks a year can become one itself, as the GOV.UK employer guidance explains. The DBS part is £20 per check: for 25 new starters a year that is £500, against £537.50 before the October 2026 cut, plus any admin fee.
Volunteers pay the same basic fee as everyone else.